I felt Gimli was a huge disapointment in terms of conversion from the book, however it's a pretty grueling ride for Mr Davis. I assume Theron doesn't make the cut either? Yet Landau does? I'm not sure the criteria is well enough established.

How on earth can Andy Serkis not be in this list?!?!?! Not only GOLLUM but also King Kong?!? (not too worried about the second one but you the point...) Seriously he should be in the top few of this list!

How on earth can Andy Serkis not be in this list?!?!?! Not only GOLLUM but also King Kong?!? (not too worried about the second one but you the point...) Seriously he should be in the top few of this list!

It says why in the article.........Likewise, CGI-assisted motion-capture performances cut no ice with us. Leaping around in a leotard against a green screen creates its own challenges and makes for often impressive results, but that's for another list. Doug Jones, therefore, gets in for the Faun rather than the Silver Surfer, and Andy Serkis' knockout turns as Gollum and Kong are left by the roadside. Glad to see Karloff make the top spot.

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So, sir, we let him have it right up! And I have to report, sir, he did not like it, sir.

Eliminating Jeff Goldblum simply because the Brundlefly transformation was also physically gradual does a great disservice to his performance. His corresponding emotional transformation from man to monster was exactly what made his character so tragically poignant and memorable. A performance which I would say equals John Hurt emotionally transforming John Merrick from sideshow freak to an eloquent man of society.

I'm pretty surprised that you missed this nuanced performance. Willem Dafoe is amazing and unrecognizable under layers of makeup as vampire Max Schreck. As well, except for a few exceptions most performances on this list did not garner an academy award nomination, which Dafoe was recognized with. Hopefully this is just a film that has escaped your viewing pleasure, in which case I hope you rectify that problem.

How on earth did you forget Tim Curry in Legend? Granted noone has seen this bomb but he has a full body-builder prosthetic, red skin, hoofs and 4 foot long horns? Also, Charlize Theron's overpraised transformation in Monster.

Pacino and Landau above Hunter? Really? Pacino was playing a human being, and Landau shouldn't even be on the list. A fine performance, but buried? Hardly. And where was Joel Grey's Chiun from Remo Williams? I keep waitng for Joel Grey through the entire movie and didn't know I'd been watching him until the closing credits. Now THAT"S a hidden performance! Landau?!! Really? If you want to put someone without any really make up on this list it would have to be Hugh Laurie. He fooled me with just a few days of stubble and that trick with his voice, and I've been a fan of his work for decades! Now that's acting. Who's this great new actor playing House?, I thought . . . and until I heard his name mentioned on an Entertainment program I had no idea and I'd already seen two episodes.

Ok, Peter Mayhew is cool as Chewbacca, but come off it, he shouldn't be on this list. There's no way he's better than John Hurt in The Elephant Man. And, as someone else pointed out, where's Tim Curry in Legend. He's the best devil ever, and the only good thing about that film.

Yes you've mentioned Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire - but how can you forget Max Schreck himself? This was before Lon Chaney above as well! I've seen many a horror film and nothing sent shivers down my spine more than Nosferatu. And this was while studying film at university after having laughed my head off at watching The Exorcist when I was 13 (as well as a lot of other supposedly 'scary' films).

And on the subject of made-up performances forgotten here - Linda Blair at 12-years-old in full make-up in The Exorcist is quite an accomplishment at that age (despite me laughing at it - I know a lot of others love it). And how about Anthony Daniels as C-3PO? Yes, Kenny Baker had a nightmare in the R2D2 tin can - no doubt - but I swear you can feel anthony's pain as you watch him waddle in gold in the desert. I also thought that Ian McDiarmid's make-up as The Emperor was always super-creepy (Episode III withstanding). I'm sure there are loads of others I and Owen have forgotten to mention - and, OK - Daniels could probably remove a lot of the golden stuff between scenes - but I think Mayhew could remove his head a lot - am I wrong? Just one more thing - Gary Oldman in Hannibal?!?!?! The actor's a genius but anyone could have done that role with the amount of make-up required. And, I'm sorry, it was a crap part in a crap film - even Red Dragon is superior to the disappointing 'end' of the Hannibal trilogy. Returning to my first point - this a serious injustice to not having Max Schreck (or even Willem Dafoe - rightly said by Cooplander) in this countdown. Think it through before you publish this countdown in a magazine issue!

David Prowse's performance isn't brilliant. Often, such as when Vader places his hands on his hips and leans forward whilst barking at Leia on her ship, he looks downright camp. Even the voice is hidden. James Earl Jones' voice can be as booming and commanding as Lucas wants and the audience appreciates, but missing one of the most iconic characters in film history - and getting so close with Chewbacca in the same freakin' franchise - when Prowse is equally almost the definition of a hidden performance is... ridiculous.

such as Mickey Rourke as Marv in Sin City, Dave Prowse as Darth Vader (Its still an important character and performance) and Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romjin in X-Men2. Im sure theres shit-loads more but i can't remember. Ron Pearlman was bloody ace as Hellboy! I'd have put him much higher.